Ms Crowley told Accountants Daily that she has a bright outlook for the profession in 2017.

“The role of president is really one of celebrating the profession, and the president and council are very much stewards of the profession,” she said.

“It’s a great role for getting out and meeting members and actually seeing what's going on.”

Ms Crowley acknowledged that digitisation is crucial this year as the profession continues to evolve alongside the economy.

“One of the things that are increasingly important is digitisation,” Ms Crowley said.

“The profession is evolving. It evolves every year and while the business environment changes and perhaps becomes more complex, the skills that chartered accountants have are evolving alongside that.”

Aside from that, Ms Crowley said she and CA ANZ will be focusing on broader issues that impact members.

“We’re also looking at how to support some of our other members, so CA ANZ is looking at how we can work on mental health initiatives this year and support those members who might be a little bit more professionally isolated or might have something going on in their professional life or their personal life that's a challenge for them,” she said.

“We’re also going to be focusing on how to support Indigenous accountants and the Indigenous economies on both sides of the Tasman, so the Maori, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and economies.”